Medical infusion apparatus

ABSTRACT

A medical infusion apparatus has an infusion flask an infusion tube fastened to the flask and lying in a two part casing provided with an electrical control system and a drip valve or infusion pump, the flask being exchangeably fastened to the casing and the valve or pump being exchangeably disposed at the bottom of the casing. Heating means is provided to heat the liquid being infused.

United States Patent 1191 Weissinger 1 1 Sept. 30, 1975 [54] MEDICALINFUSION APPARATUS 10/1963 Schoenfeld 128/214 E 4/1966 Seibert 128/214 AX [76] Inventor: Hermann Weissmger, Fuggerstr. 13 7/1968 Phelps at128/214 E X 7000 Stuttgart 80, Germany 2/1969 Gordon et 111.. 128/214 E[22] Filed: Sept 10,1973 9 1974 Gregg 128/214 E [2]] Appl' 395922Primary E.\'uminerDaltOn L. Truluck Attorney, Agent, or Firn1Oliver DOlson [52] US. Cl... 128/214 E; 128/214 A; 128/D1G. 13;

222/173; 222/185 S C I Cl. A61M 05 14 gz of Search 178/714 R A 714/13 Amedical infusion apparatus has an infusion flask an 128/214 2, 7infusion tube fastened to the flask and lying in a two DIG 12 1 6: partcasing provided with an electrical control system and a drip valve orinfusion pump, the flask being ex- [56] References Cited changeablyfastened to the casing and the valve or NI D TAT P TENTS pump beingexchangeably disposed at the bottom of U TE S ES A the casing. Heatingmeans is provided to heat the liq- 1 534913 4 1925 Buck et 111. v.128/214 R ux uid being inf/58 2254,833 2/1941 Askenaz 1. 128/213 29994999/1961 Willet 128/214 R 6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Sept.30,1975 Sheet2 of4 3,908,652

U.S. Patent Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 3 of4 3,908,652

Sept. 30,1975 Sheet 4 of 4 3,908,652

TQUD\\\\\\ L MEDICAL INFUSION APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Theinvention relates to infusion apparatus, particularly electricallymonitored, having an infusion flask, an infusion tube fastened theretoand provided with a drip chamber, a casing for receiving the electricalcontrol system, and a drip valve or an infusion pump.

Infusion devices of this kind are already known see for exampleapplicable trade literature. In these devices gravity flow of aninfusion solution is automatically controlled at a preselected rate offlow.

Through automatic self-control the known apparatus takes over thefunction of tube valves and clips. Infusion tubes of any desiredthickness can be used, and the rate of flow is adjustable and isautomatically maintained constant.

These devices however have the great disadvantage that the infusionflask is separate from an electronic control device, so that a dropsensor must be suspended on the infusion flask and kept separate fromthe device. Furthermore, various separate devices are required,depending on whether an infusion pump or a magnetic clip release devicefor flexible tubes is to be used.

Finally, the disadvantage also exists that when ordinary commerciallyavailable infusion tubes and complete infusion sets are used theflexibility of some tubes is so slight that a very large magnet isrequired for the known drip valves. Generally such commerciallyavailable tubes can not be used at all.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The problem underlying the invention thereforeconsists in so improving the apparatus of the kind first mentioned abovethat it can be used as universal apparatus. This means that theapparatus should permit in a simple manner the insertion of a completecommercially available infusion set, in such a way that it can work bothwith a drip valve and with an infusion pump without it being necessary,for example, to clip the drop sensor to the drip chamber.

According to the invention this problem is solved by exchangeablyfastening the infusion flask on the top of the casing and exchangeablydisposing the drip valve or infusion pump at the bottom of the casing.

In this way the separate clipping of the drop sensor to the drip chamberis not necessary, since the invention provides for the apparatus and theinfusion flask to form a unit, so that after the flask has been disposedon the apparatus and the tube clamped in position no furtherinstallation work is necessary. Furthermore, the

apparatus is capable of universal use because the drip valve can bereplaced by a pump, so that the same apparatus can be adapted to variousrequirements.

As a further development of the invention provision is made for thecasing to be composed of two parts and for the infusion tube to bedisposed between the two parts. In this way maximum integration of thecasing magnet. In this way a relatively small control magnet issufficient to supply the necessary force in all cases so that theuniversal nature of the apparatus is further increased, since the mostdiverse tubes can be used without disadvantage. For this purpose it mayalso be very helpful for the second clamp jaw to be stationary butadjustable in position by means of an eccentric adjusting pin.

By means of this adjusting pin, adjustment to the most diversethicknesses of tube can be achieved easily and simply.

The invention provides an infusion apparatus having an infusion flask,an infusion tube fastened thereon and provided with a drip chamber, acasing to receive an electrical control system, and a drip valve or aninfusion pump, said infusion flask being exchangeably fastened to thecasing and that the drip valve or the infusion pump being exchangeablydisposed at the bottom of the casing. v

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatical front viewof an apparatus in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 2 a side view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 a front view of a replacement part for use with the apparatusshown in FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 a side view of the replacement part shown in FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 a front view of another replacement part for use on the apparatusshown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and

FIG. 6 a side view of the replacement part shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section, on a much larger scale, through theend of the infusion tube, and

FIG. 8 shows the same as FIG. 7, but before fastening of the infusiontube.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows the completelyassembled apparatus, comprising an infusion set consisting of aninfusion flask l, a drip chamber 9 and an infusion tube 5, this setbeing incorporated in an apparatus comprising essentially two casingparts 2 and 3 together with a mounting flange 15. The mounting flange 15can, for example, be opened by means of a hinge in order to insert theinfusion set. The drip chamber 9 thus always lies in the region of atransmitter 26 and a receiver 27 of known construction, without it beingnecessary for these components to be clipped to the drip chamber.

As indicated in FIG. 1, no contact at all is made between these parts.In the lower region of the casing is indicated the drip valve 4, whichis operated by an electromagnet 12 the electric lead of which isdesignated 16. This drip valve unit can be replaced by an infusion pump,as will be explained below more fully.

A number of switches, namely a starting switch 28, a mains switch 29,and a drip pre-selector switch 32, are also provided on the casing.Furthermore, a mains pilot lamp 30 and an alarm lamp 31 are alsoindicated here.

Two screws 33 and 34 allow the drip valve unit to be replaced by amotor-driven infusion pump, as will be explained later on.

FIG. 3 shows the drip valve unit 4 in greater detail. This Figure showstwo mounting lugs 22 and 23 with fastening holes 24 and 25, by means ofwhich the unit can be replaced as a whole with the aid of the screw 33and 34 shown in FIG. I.

The infusion tube 5 is clamped between clamp jaws 7 and 8, which arerotatable about the screw 10.

The clampjaw 7 is generally made stationary, but can be adjusted by theaction of an eccentric adjusting pin 13 on a long lever arm 35.

The other adjusting jaw 8, on the other hand, is adapted to becontinuously moved by means of a magnet 12, which acts on the switch pin36 on the long lever arm 11. The return movement is effected by means ofthe spring 14.

Owing to the fact that, as can clearly be seen in the drawing, the longlever arm 11 has a length which is a multiple of that of the short leverarm between the clamp jaw 8 and the screw 10, the magnet 12 can be ofrelatively small dimensions, while it is nevertheless possible for themost diverse tubes 5 to be used with the infusion set.

FIG. 4 shows a side view of the fastening hole 24 behind which isprovided a recess 37 suitably adapted to the casing 2, 3, so that theelement can be fastened to the casing only by the two screws 33 and 34.

Exactly the same purpose is served by two fastening holes 18 and 19 inFIGS. 5 and 6, which are provided in a motor-driven infusion pump 55shown there. These continuous action infusion pumps are known per se andneed not be described in detail. The arrows 38 and 39 above and belowthe infusion tube 5 indicate the direction of flow. The motor 17a withits electric leads 17 is provided as drive means and is coupled by meansof a coupling pin 54 through a worm drive, as can be seen in FIG. 6.Mounting lugs 20 and 21 correspond to the mounting lugs 22 and 23 shownin FIG. 3.

As already mentioned, it is of great importance that by means of the twoscrews 33 and 34 the unit consisting of the drive motor 170 and theinfusion pump can also be easily and simply mounted on the casing 2, 3.In addition, another important feature of the invention is thatprovision may also be made for electronic elements or components in thecasing 2, 3, to be replaced by other elements or components fordifferent functions, so that the apparatus is suitable for the mostdiverse purposes, in accordance with a module principle.

FIG. 7 shows the end of the infusion tube 5, in which in a furtherembodiment of the invention a ball valve having the valve casing 43 isdisposed, the valve casing containing a valve ball 47 loaded by a spring38. In FIG. 7 the ball 47 has been lifted off its valve seat 39 by anextension 40 of the injection needle 4] so that the flow in thedirection of the needle 41 is permitted.

FIG. 8 on the other hand shows the situation when the needle holder 44has been pulled off the valve casing 43 in the downward direction, sothat the valve ball 47 loaded by the spring 38 is pressed onto its seat39 and the infusion liquid can no longer flow out.

The lower part of FIG. 8 shows clearly that the injection needle 41 isprovided with the previously mentioned extension 40. The latter may alsobe formed by the use of a slightly longer needle, the inlet 45a of whichhowever lies, at least in part, slightly lower than the end 45. Thedimensions are here shown greatly exaggerated, and inpractice thedistance may amount to only a few millimetres.

In another embodiment which is not illustrated, an intermediate part maybe disposed between the needle 41 and the mounting 46 of the valvecasing 43, the latter being provided with an extension of this kind,namely the extension 40, in order to enable a conventional needle 41 tobe used, in which case this needle need not have the extra length. Thiswill be immediately understandable to the specialist, so that thisarrangement need not be illustrated.

In all cases the attachment or extension 40 ensures that the valve isclosed immediately when the needle is pulled off.

In this way the apparatus provides the advantage that accidental flow isreliably prevented and in addition the apparatus can be arranged in thiscase to give an alarm signal.

Because of the spring-loaded ball 47 the infusion tube is continuouslyclosed when not in use and only when the doctor or nurse fastens theneedle or the previously mentioned intermediate part to the valve willthe valve ball be lifted off its seat and allow the infusion liquid toflow through.

If the connection between the tube and the needle or the abovementionedintermediate part should now be broken by the patient, the ball ispressed back onto its valve seat by the spring, and the tube isimmediately closed, so that no further infusion liquid can flow out. Thetube, is thus immediately filled with liquid and an alarm signal may beoperated by an electrical device, whereby staff can be summoned.

Another problem arises in heating an infusion liquid, for example blood,before the infusion. It is already known for the blood to be brought tothe temperature of about 37 before being introduced into the infusionflask. This however entails the disadvantage that a certain coolingoccurs during the filling of the flask. Since the infusion is known totake a long time, the blood will in the meantime cool further.

Through the incorporation of heat radiation source 42 as shown in FIGS.1 and 2 there is the advantage that the infusion liquid does not need tobe heated before commencement of the infusion but on the contrary theinfusion can commence immediately. The blood is heated on its path fromthe flask l to the tube 5. The heat radiation source may also act overother regions of the flask 1 and/or of the tube 5, and also of the dripchamber 9. It is thus possible for the radiator to be disposed in otherpositions than those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It is also within the scopeof the invention for the entire infusion flask to be heated.

I claim:

1. Infusion apparatus comprising:

a. a pair of laterally spaced, hollow casing sections having top andbottom ends and defining a space between them,

b. an infusion flask mounting flange at the top end of the casingsections spanning the space between them,

0. an infusion flask mounted on the mounting flange in invertedposition,

d. drop sensor means mounted on the casing sections adjacent the top endthereof and operatively spanning the space between the casing sections,

e. a drip chamber communicating with the infusion flask and positionedfreely in the space between the casing sections for sensing by the dropsensor means,

f. infusion outfeed control means mounted on the casing sectionsadjacent the bottom end thereof and operatively spanning the spacebetween the casing sections, and

g. an infusion tube communicating with the drip chamber and extendingdownward therefrom freely through the space between the casing sectionsand operatively connected to the outfeed control means.

2. The infusion apparatus of claim 1 wherein the infusion tube isprovided at its outfeed end with a valve body housing a spring-loadedball valve, an injection needle adapted for removable attachment to thevalve body, and valve operator means operatively associated with theneedle independently of the infeed end of the needle for engaging andunseating the ball valve when the needle is attached to the valve body,for the unobstructed flow of infusion liquid into the infeed end of theneedle.

3. The infusion apparatus of claim 2 wherein the valve operator meanscomprises an arcuate segment extension of the wall of the injectionneedle.

4. The infusion apparatus of claim 1 wherein the infusion outfeedcontrol means comprises a drip valve including two clamp jaws of whichat least one is connected to one end of an elongated lever provided witha pivot adjacent said end, and a control electro magnet engages thelever adjacent the opposite end thereof for pivoting the lever.

5. The infusion apparatus of claim 4 wherein the other of said two clampjaws is connected to one end of a second elongated lever providedadjacent said end with the same pivot as the first named lever, and aneccentric adjusting pin engages the second lever adjacent the oppositeend thereof for adjusting the position of the second jaw.

6. The infusion apparatus of claim 4 including spring means engaging thelever for returning the associated clamp jaw to unclamping position. l l

1. Infusion apparatus comprising: a. a pair of laterally spaced, hollowcasing sections having top and bottom ends and defining a space betweenthem, b. an infusion flask mounting flange at the top end of the casingsections spanning the space between them, c. an infusion flask mountedon the mounting flange in inverted position, d. drop sensor meansmounted on the casing sections adjacent the top end thereof andoperatively spanning the space between the casing sections, e. a dripchamber communicating with the infusion flask and positioned freely inthe space between the casing sections for sensing by the drop sensormeans, f. infusion outfeed control means mounted on the casing sectionsadjacent the bottom end thereof and operatively spanning the spacebetween the casing sections, and g. an infusion tube communicating withthe drip chamber and extending downward therefrom freely through thespace between the casing sections and operatively connected to theoutfeed control means.
 2. The infusion apparatus of claim 1 wherein theinfusion tube is provided at its outfeed end with a valve body housing aspring-loaded ball valve, an injection needle adapted for removableattachment to the valve body, and valve operator means operativelyassociated with the needle independently of the infeed end of the needlefor engaging and unseating the ball valve when the needle is attached tothe valve body, for the unobstructed flow of infusion liquid into theinfeed end of the needle.
 3. The infusion apparatus of claim 2 whereinthe valve operator means comprises an arcuate segment extension of thewall of the injection needle.
 4. The infusion apparatus of claim 1wherein the infusion outfeed control means comprises a drip valveincluding two clamp jaws of which at least one is connected to one endof an elongated lever provided with a pivot adjacent said end, and acontrol electro magnet engages the lever adjacent the opposite endthereof for pivoting the lever.
 5. The infusion apparatus of claim 4wherein the other of said two clamp jaws is connected to one end of asecond elongated lever provided adjacent said end with the same pivot asthe first named lever, and an eccentric adjusting pin engages the secondlever adjacent the opposite end thereof for adjusting the position ofthe second jaw.
 6. The infusion apparatus of claim 4 including springmeans engaging the lever for returning the associated clamp jaw tounclamping position.